Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Class Overview

Welcome to Biology 233! This is a fantastic course and the continuation of an exciting journey of the human body in the 200-level Anatomy and Physiology series. In this course we learn the respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system, and reproductive system. This class is a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun! I am really excited to build a positive, inclusive, and welcoming class community where we all work together.

This is a hybrid class, meaning that you will complete 3-4 hours of lecture videos and homework before class, and then we will meet once a week in-person at Rock Creek campus to practice the lecture material and complete lab activities. Please only register for this course if you are able to attend every week in-person. (In the case of illness or emergencies, we will of course make necessary arrangements, but do not sign up for this class if you already know you cannot regularly attend in person.)

Because this is a hybrid course, you will need to make sure you arrange your schedule to complete the 3-4 hours of videos/homework before each class. Our in-person class time will be active and engaging, and will give us an opportunity to clarify, practice, and apply our classroom material. Plan on preparing adequately and being an active participant in class.

This class covers a considerable amount of detail about the topics listed above, and you will need to schedule appropriate study time in order to succeed. I highly recommend that you very carefully map out your schedule and determine when and how you will be studying for this course. Students who do well in this class typically spend about 18-24 hours a week (including pre-class activities, in-person meetings, and personal study time). This class is challenging, but there are a lot of resources to help! I am eager to help and support however I can, you will meet some wonderful classmates to work together with, and PCC has excellent free tutoring services. I know that you are capable of succeeding in this class!

I will send out an email with the class syllabus and schedule a week before class starts with more detailed class information, but in the meantime, see below for an overview:

Class Textbooks

**Use whatever resources you already have from Bi 231 and Bi 232, there is not need to purchase additional resources for this class

Lecture textbook: "Anatomy & Physiology: The Unity of Form and Function, " Saladin, 9th edition, McGraw Hill. [This textbook will be used as a reference. An electronic version, used edition, or older edition is just fine. You will not need access to Connect for this class. You are also welcome to use any other undergraduate level Anatomy and Physiology textbook as a reference if you prefer. Another one I recommend is "Fundamentals of Anatomy & Physiology" by Martini, 11th edition, Pearson.] 

Lab guide: PCC Custom Lab Success Guide 2023-2024. (A free PDF version will be provided online)

**Both of these will be used for all three terms of A&P at PCC.

Class Assignments

Graded activities for this class include weekly lecture homework, weekly lecture and lab quizzes, lecture exams (2 midterms and a final), lab exams (2), and lab and lecture activities and projects. Lab makes up about 30% of the total grade, and lecture makes up about 70% of the grade. You need to pass both portions to pass the class.

I look forward to meeting you! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me: natalie.mix@pcc.edu

You will need access to the internet and a computer that can open Google Suite, Word and PDF (you can download these for free as a student).  You will need to create documents in these formats. You may also need to convert images (gif, jpeg, png) to pdf files.  There are free apps that can convert for you (I use Adobe Free Converter to PDF).